Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A quick handshake (Updated)

Six foreign leaders spoke at Nelson Mandela’s
funeral today: President Obama, President Raul Castro, and the leaders of
Brazil, China, India, and Namibia.President Obama shook Raul Castro’s hand as he greeted the other
speakers and other guests.It’s hard to
read much into this, in fact it would have been awkward to avoid the brief
greeting.If it marks the beginning of a
change in the relationship, so much the better, but that would take a decision
on President Obama’s part, not a handshake.

Raul Castro was introduced as a representative of
a people that fought for South Africa’s liberation by fighting in Angola
against rebels backed by the apartheid government.He praised Mandela for ending the apartheid
system, for serving as an example to Latin America and the Caribbean, and for
standing up for the “conviction that dialogue and cooperation are the path to
the solution of differences and to civilized coexistence between those who
think differently.”For his part, President Obama took a shot at leaders
who express solidarity with Mandela but “do not tolerate dissent from their own
people.”

Granma has the transcript of Raul Castro’s
remarks and an article on President Obama’s
remarks.

Rosa Maria Paya, the daughter of the late Oswaldo
Paya, says that President Obama’s
handshake shows disrespect for the Cuban people.

When you go to a funeral, do you use it as an
opportunity to settle scores with everyone there?That’s what two U.S. Senators think President
Obama should have done at today’s state funeral in Johannesburg.Senator
McCain: “Why should you shake hands with somebody who's keeping
Americans in prison?”Then, “Neville
Chamberlain shook hands with Hitler.”Senator
Rubio: “If he was going to shake his hand, he should have asked him
about those basic freedoms Mandela was associated with that are denied in Cuba.”